Arizona State's Heisman Trophy candidate will not play Saturday
Arizona State (6-2, 3-2) will have to find a way to win without its best player.
According to multiple reports, running back Cam Skattebo will not play Saturday vs. UCF (4-5, 2-4) because of a shoulder injury he suffered last week against Oklahoma State.
On Monday Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said Skattebo would not practice this week and his status for the UCF game was in doubt.
"He's actually doubtful to questionable for the game this week," Dillingham said. "So we'll see how that transpires. He's not going to practice this week. ... We're gonna do whatever is in the best interest of him .... do whatever we can to get him healthy and get him back as soon as possible."
Skattebo entered the Heisman Trophy conversation this week after putting together one of the best individual performances of the 2024 college football season in Arizona State's 42-21 win over Oklahoma State. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior finished with 274 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in just over three quarters.
On a 19-yard run early in the fourth quarter Skattebo appeared to suffer a shoulder injury and left the game. On the play, he lowered his shoulder and took on an Oklahoma State defender at the 1-yard line.
Here's the play:
In light of Kenny Dillingham listing Cam Skattebo as "doubtful to questionable" to play against UCF, here is the last play he was on the field against Oklahoma State where he appeared visibly shaken up afterward.@SunDevilSource pic.twitter.com/mXPwrylcZy
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) November 4, 2024
Sophomore running back Kyson Brown will start in Skattebo's place. Brown is coming off the best game of his career after rushing 15 times for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns against Oklahoma State.
Arizona State is favored by 2.5 points over a UCF team that has lost five of its last six games. The game is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. MST on ESPN2.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.